ABSTRACT
The ethics of just war is a part of the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. It appears sometimes in a robust form, that is with the familiar jus ad bellum criteria, which, if satisfied, suspend the strong presumption against the use of force: these include the criteria of just cause, comparative justice, legitimate authority, last resort, and probability of success. And together with these, making up the traditional doctrine of just war, appear the jus in bello criteria, those which, if satisfied, curb the violence of war by imposing moral standards on the conduct of armed conflict: these include the criteria of right intention, proportionality, and non-combatant immunity. Furthermore, one finds occasional exhortations of the Catholic faithful to become more familiar with the principles of just war as part of the life-long task of understanding and applying in good conscience the Church's teaching on war and peace. 1
It would be mistaken, however, to assume for these reasons that Roman Catholic social teaching is conclusively in favour of the ethics of just war. Indeed, the most authoritative teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on peace and war, found in the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, considers the matter differently, calling for a 'completely fresh reappraisal of war'. 2 The reason this reappraisal is needed is the development of weapons of mass destruction, which, according to a footnote reference to the encyclical Peace on Earth of Pope John XXIII, makes war an improper way to obtain justice for violated rights.3
